The Maker's Cruel Joke
by sn0w0wl
Summary: This is a one shot that I wrote as an alternative for Chapter 19 of my story "Solace Amidst The Chaos".


_**Author's**_** _note: _I wrote this on a whim as an alternative for chapter 19 of my "Solace Amidst The Chaos" story. Mainly because I'm having a bad day today and I needed an outlet for my frustration. **

**Let me be clear...this will NOT happen in the actual story, so please don't let this one shot dissuade you from reading the main story.  
**

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_**The Maker's Cruel Joke**_

Parean and Loghain warmed themselves by the fire, idly watching their evening meal roast on the makeshift spit. Last that he could remember through the haze of alcohol, they had consumed at least two flasks of Dwarven Ale. Loghain stared at Parean, watching her sway to and fro, giggling randomly about nothing at all. '_She is a vision_,' he thought, smiling affectionately as she compulsively tucked her hair that was already firmly secured behind her ear. He longed to run his fingers through her hair, to touch her soft skin and hold her against him.

Gathering his courage, bolstered by the vast quantity of alcohol coursing through his veins, he slowly rose and walked over to her. Reaching down, he took her hands gently in his and pulled her to her feet.

Parean awkwardly raised her gaze to meet his and she smiled warmly, "Yessh, Loghain? Did you want shhomething?" Her words slurring as she tried to remain standing.

Gazing into her beautiful clear blue eyes, Loghain softly stroked his hand down her cheek and entwined his fingers into her hair. "Just to say…I love you."

Parean's eyes widened in shock. '_Did he just say what I think he said or am I imagining it_?' No doubt was left in her mind when he drew her into his embrace. Warmth flooded her body, burning off some of the alcohol induced fog in her mind. "Oh, Loghain," she wept, circling her arms around his waist, "I've wanted to hear those words from you for so long!"

Rocking her gently for a long moment, he sighed contentedly, drawing back to look upon her once again. His hand tenderly cupped her chin, tilting her head up, "Forgive me, beloved, for not speaking them sooner."

"I'm just happy that you have spoken them," Parean beamed, "We can spend the rest of our lives making up for lost time." She watched as Loghain smiled, closing his eyes and slowly lowering his lips to hers. She responded in kind, closing her eyes and reaching up to meet his kiss.

Just as their lips were about the touch, a blast of frigid air struck Loghain. Parean's eyes flew open to see Loghain frozen solid before her. Before she had time to take in what had happened, an arrow whistled past her head, striking Loghain squarely in the chest. She watched in horror as the man she loved so desperately, shattered before her eyes. Ice shards pelted her face, slicing like razorblades into her skin and gouging her eyes. Through eyes bleary with blood and tears, she looked down at the shattered remains of Loghain. The ice had melted, leaving only pieces of skin and hair scattered around her feet; all that remained of the man she loved. A gut-wrenching scream burst from her lips, "Loghain! NO!" Falling to her knees, her body was wracked with retching sobs.

She hardly noticed the searing pain of the arrow that pierced her back. More arrows struck their mark and as she stood, her injured eyes could barely make out the approach of several Crow assassins running toward her, daggers at the ready. Leaning heavily on her staff, weak from the emotional strain and blood loss, she felt her power surge as her anger grew beyond anything she had ever experienced. Her enchanted amulet began to glow a brilliant white as her mind control spell worked to contain her emotions. '_My life means nothing now, and I'll be damned to The Void if these sodding bastards will escape_!' Grabbing her amulet firmly, she ripped it from her neck, shearing off several layers of skin in the process, and threw it into the fire. Smoke quickly began billowing from her body as she consciously kept her protective shield from forming around her. As the assassins closed in, she suddenly bellowed a blood-curdling scream as a tower of fire burst forth from her; the resulting blast incinerating Parean and everything around her.

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Riding at full gallop toward Denerim, Alistair's mind was flooded with the events of the past several days. He and Morrigan had not reached Redcliffe in time to save Arl Eamon. While he prepared a missive to be sent to Loghain in Denerim informing him of the situation in Redcliffe, he was told that the Archdemon had risen; a massive horde of darkspawn in its wake. As they journeyed toward Denerim to re-group with Loghain and Parean, they happened across a large group of dead soldiers. Alistair shuddered at the memory of Bann Teagan's mutilated and horribly disfigured body strewn amongst the corpses.

A short distance away from Denerim, Alistair abruptly drew his horse to a halt; his mouth agape at the sight before his eyes. The mighty city, capitol of Ferelden, had fallen. The whole city was aflame. The palace lay in ruins, nothing more than a burning skeleton of what was once a massive fortress. He heard the agonizing screams of the few remaining inhabitants as they were slaughtered. Some were impaled by Genlock archers or ripped asunder by a Hurlock emissary, others cleaved in two by the bloodied swords of the darkspawn warriors as they attempted to flee. He shut his eyes against the sight of a small child, ripped from his mother's lifeless arms by an ogre before being snapped like a twig and his broken body casually discarded.

Alistair was jolted from his daze when his horse collapsed to the ground, arrows protruding from various parts of its body. Morrigan transformed to her human form and began fiercely cutting down the approaching darkspawn. Drawing his sword, Alistair rushed to Morrigan's side, fending off the attacking darkspawn. Unseen by either of them was the ogre charging toward them; head down and in a full run. White blotches of pain filled Alistair's eyes as the ogre rammed into them, sending them both flying through the air. Morrigan let out a scream then fell silent as she was impaled on a jagged shard of a felled tree, pierced through the heart.

A screeching roar filled the air and Alistair looked up to see the Archdemon, neck and wings fully extended, spewing fire over the battlefield. Willing his badly injured body to move, he stood up and bellowed a fierce war cry, charging head-on toward the dragon. His sword slicing through the flood of darkspawn in his path, he ran at the dragon, a murderous glint in his eyes. Reaching the foot of the dragon, he raised his sword to strike when the Archdemon's vile head swooped down upon him, clamping its razor-sharp teeth around his waist and lifting him into the air. Alistair tried in vain to stab at the dragon's head as it shook him violently from side to side, its tainted spittle covering him and the vile stench of its breath assaulting his nostrils. With one last thrash of its massive head, the dragon flung him through the air and he landed with a sickening '_**thud**_' against the stone wall that surrounded the city. His body broken and vomiting bright red blood, Alistair's last thought was a silent prayer to The Maker that Loghain and Parean would be able to succeed where he had failed.

With Alistair's demise, there remained no Grey Wardens in Ferelden to fight the darkspawn horde. The Blight continued unchecked through Ferelden. Every living thing perished under the crushing force of the darkspawn horde. As darkspawn continued to pour out of The Deep Roads to bolster the Archdemon's ranks, The Blight eventually spread throughout all of Thedas, destroying everything in its path. Within a matter of months, the whole of Thedas had fallen to the Archdemon and its darkspawn minions.


End file.
